Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Lerone Murphy after UFC London loss?

Lerone Murphy left his fate in the hands of the judges at UFC Fight Night 270 and did not get the result he wanted. Murphy (17-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) tasted defeat for the first time Saturday when he lost a majority decision to Movsar Evloev (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) in the headliner at The O2 in London. It was a highly competitive fight and it looked at times like "The Miracle" was primed for an underdog win, but it was not meant to be.

Despite the advantage of Evloev fighting him on the feet for much of the first 15 minutes, and giving up a point from a deduction for low blows, Murphy fell flat late and could not close it out. Some claimed he was robbed, but the Brit had no qualms about the scorecards in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. It appears a hip injury may have derailed Murphy's performance to a degree, but it's unknown how exactly it happened and whether it was Evloev's doing or a fluke injury.

Nevertheless, Murphy goes into previously unseen territory with his first loss. Ordinarily a loss at this level wouldn't be too devastating, but for Murphy it's hard not to wonder if it means more. It took 10 undefeated performances in the UFC to get to the cusp of the title shot, and now he's 34 and potentially looking at an injury layoff.

If Murphy can get healthy and improve on this loss, though, he's still arguably at the tail end of his prime and could achieve some more high-level wins. Diego Lopes, Yair Rodriguez or the Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal winner on April 25 could all make for solid matchups, but it will all depend on timing and availability when Murphy comes back.